But once the ball got in the hands of Rotorua fullback Selestino Ravutaumada, things started to happen. His dancing feet led to two tries, though the second emanated from a Hayze Perham chip into the in-goal.
Hamilton had the ascendant scrum and first five Coby Miln kicking the goals, but his only miss of the day, in the 62nd minute, left the door slightly ajar for Rotorua. They banged it down. Replacement Stuart Leach drove over in the fourth minute of added time to tie the scores at 27-27. It was left to No 10 Quinn Collard to slot the wide-angled conversion.
Cue scenes of jubilation.
This was the second tight loss in a matter of days for Hamilton BHS, who were edged 18-17 in their traditional against Auckland Grammar.
Both sides will be back in action this weekend as the Super 8 kicks off. Defending champs and hot favourites Hastings BHS will host Palmerston North BHS first-up.
Wins for Rosmini (32-13 over Takapuna Grammar), Rangitoto (by the same scoreline over Whangarei BHS) and Westlake BHS (36-14 over Massey) highlighted North Harbour 1A.
The Auckland 1A competition resumes on Saturday, with St Peter's v Auckland Grammar, the Battle for Mountain Road, the televised fixture.
The Counties Manukau/Waikato premier competition kicked off with good wins for Manurewa and Pukekohe, while Te Awamutu and St John's had a 26-all stalemate.
Wesley, led by dominant lock Vaai Tupou, handed St Paul's Collegiate their first defeat in 28 Central North Island completion matches, after an 11-all midweek draw with Wanganui Collegiate. In doing so, Wesley also annexed the Rick Francis Memorial Shield for the first time.
The centrepiece of an otherwise one-sided UC Championship round was the dramatic 16-15 victory for Christ's over Christchurch BHS last Thursday. This was the first win in this fixture for Christ's since 2000, and just two years since Christchurch BHS inflicted an 80-0 hiding at their Straven Road home.
Some slick passing saw the home side shoot out to a 10-0 advantage via tries to centre Tahei Kasuka and lock Campbell Reid. The signs were ominous for Christ's. But they showed their resilience, hitting back with a try to wing Benjamin Dickie from a double miss backline move. Christchurch wing Latham Kelly-Foleni showed his fine footwork to dart over out wide and the halftime lead was 15-11. The second half was pure drama.
There was a concussion, a firework let off from the crowd, a yellow card against the home side, and some enterprising Christ's attack. Centre and captain Isaiah Punivai slipped a sweet short ball to fullback Levi Emery to nudge Christ's into the one-point lead with six to play.
The play went to and fro until Christ's made a meal of the clearance, unaware that time was up. But it mattered not. A cast of hundreds flooded the field to mob the victors from Christ's.
North Harbour 1A
Rosmini 32 Takapuna Grammar 13
Rangitoto 32 Whangarei BHS 13
Westlake BHS 36 Massey HS 14
Points: Westlake BHS 29, Rosmini 25, Rangitoto 24, Takapuna Grammar 18, Massey 6, Orewa, Birkenhead 4, Whangarei BHS 1
Counties Manukau/Waikato
Manurewa 43 Rosehill 0
Cambridge HS 29 James Cook 14
Pukekohe 39 Alfriston 26
Te Awamutu HS 26 St John's (Hamilton) 26
Chiefs Cup
(Final)
Rotorua BHS 29 (Selestino Ravutaumada 2, Manny Crawford, Stuart Leach tries; Quinn Collard 3 con, pen) Hamilton BHS 27 (Charles Alaimalo, Tevita Faukafa, Quinn Tupaea tries; Coby Miln 3 con, 2 pen) HT: 21-15 Hamilton BHS
Bay of Plenty
(Division one)
Te Wharekura O Mauao 20 Bethlehem 13
Rotorua BHS Second XV 29 Trident HS 15
Aquinas 27 Opotiki 19
Central North Island
Wesley 29 St Paul's Collegiate 13
Wanganui Collegiate 11 St Paul's Collegiate 11
Feilding HS 73 St John's (Hastings) 7
St Peter's (Cambridge) 39 Lindisfarne 12
Wellington
Kapiti 22 Tawa 16
Scots 88 Hutt Valley HS 3
St Pat's (Town) 39 Porirua 22
(Midweek)
Wellington 43 St Pat's (Town) 17
UC Championship
Nelson 36 Marlborough BC 15
St Thomas 60 Lincoln 8
St Andrew's 50 St Bede's 17
Rangiora HS 30 Burnside HS 17
Timaru BHS 72 Mid Canterbury Combined 6
Waimea Combined 39 Shirley BHS 24
(Midweek)
Christ's 16 (Benjamin Dickie, Levi Emery tries; Dickie 2 pen) Christchurch BHS 15 (Tahei Kasuka, Campbell Reid, Latham Kelly-Foleni tries) HT: 15-11 Christchurch BHS
Otago
South Otago HS 32 Waitaki BHS 24
Otago BHS Second XV 34 Mt Aspiring 26
King's HS 117 Kavanagh 0
Dunstan HS 14 Taieri 8
John McGlashan 68 St Kevin's 8
Traditionals
Auckland Grammar 18 Hamilton BHS 17